1.
[syn: swordfish, Xiphias gladius]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Swordfish \Sword"fish`\, n.
1. (Zool.)
(a) A very large oceanic fish (Xiphias gladius), the
only representative of the family Xiphiidae. It is
highly valued as a food fish. The bones of the upper
jaw are consolidated, and form a long, rigid,
swordlike beak; the dorsal fin is high and without
distinct spines; the ventral fins are absent. The
adult is destitute of teeth. It becomes sixteen feet
or more long.
(b) The gar pike.
(c) The cutlass fish.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Astron.) A southern constellation. See Dorado, 1.
[1913 Webster]
Swordfish sucker (Zool.), a remora (Remora brachyptera)
which attaches itself to the swordfish.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
Xiphias gladius
n 1: large toothless marine food fish with a long swordlike
upper jaw; not completely cold-blooded i.e. they are able
to warm their brains and eyes: worldwide in warm waters but
feed on cold ocean floor coming to surface at night [syn:
swordfish, Xiphias gladius]